Demountable or removable partition walls are widely used in office buildings and the like. The main characteristic of these systems is that a "knock-down" framing assembly is erected and removable gypsum board facing panels are suspended from the framing assembly. Three prior art embodiments are shown in FIGS. 1-3. Having reference to the Figures, these embodiments have the following features in common:
the facing panels are equipped with horizontal linear arrays o of suspension assemblies h mounted to the panel on its rear face; PA1 each suspension assembly h comprises a gang nail plate p, having tangs (not shown) embedded in the panel material, and a clip t secured to the plate p and having a downwardly, rearwardly, angled portion u; PA1 opposed channels b, a are mounted to the ceiling and floor; PA1 laterally spaced metal studs c extend between the ceiling and floor channels b, a; PA1 the stud c may be C-shaped (with a single web v) or U-shaped (with a double web s); PA1 each web v, s has cut-outs n at spaced positions along the vertical extent of the stud; PA1 horizontal support channels f extend through the cut-outs n and are supported by the studs c; PA1 the floor and ceiling channels and studs form a `frame` and the frame combines with the support channels to form a `framing assembly`; and PA1 each support channel f has inwardly sloping and converging walls d for engaging and supporting the angled portions u of the clips t, so that the panels g are suspended by the clips t from the sloping walls d and are "cammed" or drawn in tightly against the framing assembly. PA1 floor and ceiling channels; PA1 laterally spaced, vertical, preferably C-shaped, metal studs extending between the floor and ceiling channels; PA1 each stud having its web positioned transverse to the main plane of the assembly, said web forming one or more patterns of vertical slots at spaced points along its length; and PA1 one or more short, "one-sided" brackets or support channels suspended from the web, each bracket being adapted to project from only one face of the web; PA1 each bracket having a horizontal channel wall, preferably forming inwardly sloping, converging support surfaces for engaging and supporting the clip of a suspension assembly; PA1 the bracket further having a pair of side walls extending downwardly from the side edges of the channel wall, said side walls forming vertical end edges for abutting the stud web and distributing the panel load to the web; PA1 the side walls having slotted hooks extending from the end edges for penetrating the slots and engaging the web to suspend the bracket therefrom; PA1 each hook slot preferably having an angled surface for causing the bracket to be drawn in tightly against the web; PA1 the slot pattern preferably taking the form of two vertical rows, typically with three slots per row, and the bracket having one hook extending from an intermediate point on one end edge and two hooks extending from the ends of the other end edge, so that a pair of brackets can be suspended at the same elevation on the two sides of the web using a single pattern of slots; PA1 the bracket preferably having a width selected so that it fits snugly between the two side walls of the C-shaped stud, so that the bracket reinforces the stud and resists inward collapse of the walls when the stud is loaded; PA1 the side walls preferably having means protruding from their second ends for spacing the panel from the bracket so that they are substantially parallel.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,948,011 (Price et al), 4,693,047 (Menchetti) and 4,448,004 (Thomell) are exemplary of the pertinent prior art.
In both Menchetti's and Thorsell's systems, the horizontal support channel extends continuously through adjacent studs for support. This is shown in Prior Art FIG. 2 for the Thorsell system. The suspension assembly clips engage the support channel near the studs--thus there is a portion of the continuous support channel that serves little purpose. In addition, the continuous support channel interferes with installation of wiring and the like in the wall cavity between facing panels.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,539 (Menchetti) a short discontinuous support channel is disclosed (see Prior Art FIG. 3). But this short support channel requires the use of a double-webbed, U-shaped stud for support. In addition, the stud must be formed of heavy gauge (30/1000" thickness) steel, to avoid deformation at the cut-outs. These studs are difficult to manually trim on site with shears. As a result, in commercial practice the stud is supplied in conjunction with a telescoping base or "stud shoe" m. In addition, the U-shaped stud has one side facing out which has an open vertical slot--thus one cannot fasten with screws to this stud face (which is desirable on occasion). In practice, this leads to having to stock both U-shaped and C-shaped studs for use in the wall.
In the prior art systems, the support channels extend through and protrude from the stud. This structure cannot be used to begin a wall. Thus, in this circumstance, screws are used to secure a pair of panels to a C-shaped starting stud. The screws must then be hidden by an applied batten.
With this background in mind, it is the objective of this invention to devise short, discontinuous, "one-sided" support channels which can be used with light gauge, single webbed, C-shaped studs to provide an improved and less expensive framing assembly.